James Bryan (mining executive)
James Bryan (1789–1822) was an American mining entrepreneur whose efforts in concert with others brought economic development to Missouri. Bryan operated "Bryan's Mines" on Hazel Run, north of Big River, in SW 1/4 of Sec. 33, T. 37N. 5E. in 1806; this location is also known as "Hazel Run Lead Digging."
Bryan owned significant land in Missouri, including a plantation, and donated land in Missouri to the public for the construction of public buildings there. A transfer of Missouri land to Bryan from his father-in-law, mining entrepreneur Moses Austin, eventually became the subject of the 1885 United States Supreme Court case Bryan v. Kennett, which has been called the Court's ratification of the Louisiana Purchase. Bryan was also a significant land owner in Arkansas, and was recognized in a book published by the Arkansas History Commission.